1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an optical disc cartridge for receiving an optical disc and an apparatus for driving the same, and more particularly to an optical disc cartridge that is capable of assuring the degree of freedom in an optical disc and a disc holder. Also, the present invention is directed to an optical disc driving apparatus that is capable of assuring the degree of. freedom in an optical disc and a disc holder upon loading an optical disc cartridge within which the optical disc is received.
2. Description of the Background Art
Generally, an optical disc is classified into a read-only type disc, such as CD-ROM and DVD-ROM, etc., and a recordable type disc, such as WROM(Write Once Read Many) type, rewritable type and RAM type, etc., depending on its rewritable frequency. The recordable optical disc has information recording surfaces weak to a contamination such as dust or fingerprint, or a damage such as scratch as it goes into a high density. For this reason, the recordable optical disc has been received within a cartridge so that it can be protected from a contamination or a damage. Recently, there has been suggested a cartridge which can take out an optical disc from it into the exterior. Such an optical disc cartridge is provided with a disc holder for opening or closing an optical disc receiver defined in its case. This has been disclosed in the International Patent Application No. PCT/KR/9,900,362 filed earlier by the same applicant. As shown in FIG. 1, this patent application includes a disc holder 7 provided with tension arms 2a and 2b, hereinafter referred to as xe2x80x9ctension arm-disc holderxe2x80x9d. The tension arms 2a and 2b grasp an optical disc 10 by an elastic pressure when the optical disc 10 is inserted into a case 1 or is drawn into the exterior. When the optical disc 10 has been fully inserted into the case 1, these tension arms 2a and 2b are separated from the optical disc 10 while being outstretched by guide ribs la and 1b defined in the case 1. The optical disc 10 which becomes free from a restraint of the tension arms 2a and 2b within the case 1 can be rotated in the recording/reproduction mode.
The tension arms 2a and 2b must assure the degree of freedom in their operation so that they make a stable grasp of the optical disc 10 moving into the inner/outer side of the case without interfering with a rotation of the optical disc 10. To this end, it is necessary to design a distance between the optical disc 10 and the case 1 or between the optical disc 10 and the tension arm 2a or 2b properly. When a distance between the optical disc 10 and the case 1 becomes too narrow within the case by the tension arms 2a and 2b, interference may occurs between the optical disc 10 and the case 1 in the recording/reproduction mode. In other words, if a distance between the optical disc 10 and the case 1 becomes narrow, then a mutual interference occur between the case 1 and the optical disc 10 in the recording/reproduction mode due to a sag caused by the weight of optical disc 10 or a deformation of the optical disc 10 incurring in the vibration mode according to its high-speed rotation. In this case, a normal recording/reproduction is difficult, and recording/reproducing surfaces of the optical disc 10 may be damaged by the case 1. Furthermore, if a distance between the tension arm 2a or 2b and the optical disc 10, or between the tension arm 2a or 2b and the case 1 becomes too narrow, then the tension arms 2a and 2b fails to grasp the optical disc 10 due to a mutual interference between the tension arm 2a or 2b and the case 1 or between the tension arm 2a or 2b and the optical disc 10 when the optical disc 10 within the case 1 is drawn out to the exterior. If the tension arm-disc holder 7 is compulsorily drawn out of the case 1, then the optical disc 10 or the tension arm-disc holder 7 may be damaged.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an optical disc cartridge which is capable of assuring the degree of freedom in a disc holder within a case.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an optical disc driving apparatus which is capable of assuring the degree of freedom in a disc holder upon loading a cartridge received with an optical disc.
In order to achieve these and other objects of the invention, an optical disc cartridge according to one aspect of the present invention includes an optical disc and a tension arm being spaced from each other into more than a minimum height for preventing their mutual interference in consideration of a thickness and a deformation amount of the optical disc; and a flange and a case are spaced from each other into more than a minimum height for preventing their mutual interference in consideration of a deformation amount of the disc holder and a thickness of the flange.
An optical disc driving apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention includes means for supporting an optical disc and an optical disc cartridge at a different height in such a manner that the optical disc and a tension arm are spaced from each other into more than a minimum height for preventing their mutual interference in consideration of a thickness and a deformation amount of the optical disc and that a flange and a case are spaced from each other into more than a minimum height for preventing their mutual interference in consideration of a deformation amount of the disc holder and a thickness of the flange.